sn0wman

lol yeah it was crazy. it was right after a right turn and i didn't even see it or else i would've just took a detour. but yeah i checked it on my driveway. it was on a slight ramp at work so i didn't bother checking it, just hoped that nothing would happen. i let the engine cool for a couple hours on the driveway before i checked and it looked like this (not my pic):



it was kinda dark so i'm going to check again in the morning. not gonna drive on the weekend and going to do an oil change first or just go to the dealership on monday and have them look at it on a lift or something

cbayman

Your car is still under factory warranty. It isn't low on oil...there is something else wrong. Changing the oil will not resolve the low oil pressure issue. I wouldn't change the oil, let the dealer do it and ask for a Analysis of the used oil. This will indicate how much damage has occurred. I would take it to the dealer on a flat bed. If you drive it there with the Low Oil Pressure light ON or flashing you will continue to damage the engine and Honda may deny your claim. Read page 218 of your owners manual. The oil pressure warning light on these cars should be labeled "engine damage has occurred". In your case, hopefully, it's minimal damage at this point.

sn0wman

yikes, it looks bad huh. i didn't hear any weird noises so i was thinking it might be the sensor instead of the pump (since my oil looks fine). i'll give them a call, there's a dealer just a few miles from me.

xviper

Before everyone goes jumping off a cliff or running through town yelling, "The sky is falling", the topic starter has left out some information that may be critical to what's happening. With the absence of such information, anything that is posted up here is pure speculation.
Let's run down what he/she has already told us .....................
- Car is '08, 5K miles. We don't know if he's still got warranty. The basic factory warranty is only 3 years. The low miles doesn't matter here. The emissions warranty is longer but I don't this is an emissions issue. An extended warranty, if he has one, may still be in effect.
- Oil light "came on" while driving. We don't know how long it stayed on. Did it just flicker? Did it stay on for several seconds? Minutes? We know it did eventually go off.
- He tells us that the oil minder is at 15%. The oil minder is an algorithm based on various engine operating parameters to determine when the oil should be changed. It's a "rough" guide and means very little except to the compulsive/obsessive and anal retentive. The manual even states that the oil should be changed at least once a year even if the oil minder hasn't clocked down in that time. The oil minder is NOT an indication of oil level or oil pressure, so it shouldn't be taken too seriously in cases like this.
- The topic starter indicated he drove through a large water pool. Take a look at your oil pressure sender. The end has a rubber boot around it. It's there to keep foreign material (like water) out of the sensitive electrical connector. Unless that boot is damaged or pulled off, driving through water is not a big deal. People drive through water pools and in heavy rain all the time. It's possible that the oil pressure sensor is faulty but as there has never been a history of this in the S2000, it's unlikely.
- Topic starter finally checked the oil level. It's fine, assuming he checked it on a level surface and he did it right. (Amazing how many people do it wrong.)

So what else do we need to know? ......................
- What type of oil is he using?
- What viscosity of oil is he using?
- How long has it been in there?
- How long was the oil light on?
- How was he driving at the time it came on? Was he driving at cruising rpm? Or was he slowing down and the engine was near or below idle? Was he turning hard at the time? Was he driving straight? Accelerating? Decelerating?

If he's using an oil that is of the wrong API rating or the incorrect (and too low) a viscosity, it may not have sufficient pumping resistance. Was the engine up to operating temp and running that way for some time? When the oil gets hot, it's a lot thinner and won't exert as much pressure. This can be a problem particularly if the oil was not the right kind. There have been known cases where 5W20 or even 0W20 oil has been put into S2000s. (Yeah, dealers - gotta love 'em.)
So, the possibilities? ......................
- Thin oil
- Hot oil
- Very low rpm at the time
- Bad oil pump (unlikely)
- Faulty oil pressure sender (unlikely)
- High lateral G at the time
- Clogged oil journals (unlikely due to low miles)

So, Topic Starter, tell us what's going on.

cbayman

In the US the power train is warranted for 5yrs/60k miles.

rob-2

Top up oil and start it up.

cbayman

May not be bad. Could be that the sensor connection got wet. But you need to have Honda look at it if you want to keep your warranty coverage in effect. Call your dealer, explain the situation and they'll tell you what to do. But no matter what they say, dont drive it or even let it idle if the light is on or flashing. They will most likely remove the sensor and install a test gauge to measure the oil pressure. If its ok then they will most likely replace the sensor and clean the connection. Point is to have Honda do this so that if you have an engine failure after the warranty expires (coming up quickly)you'll have a better chance of getting Honda to pay for the repair.

xviper

Lucky! In Canada, factory warranty is in the pooper in 3.

Just had a look at Honda.com. Powertrain warranty is a Limited warranty for 5 years/60K miles and only on vehicles 2006 and later. Certain items are excluded.

zeroptzero

Did your car come close to a stall condition while going through the large lake, I mean puddle ?. Do you have a cold air intake ?. Again, knowing how long the light was on will certainly help, less than a second, more than a second, a couple seconds ?..........

The oil minder info sounds a bit odd. If it is at 15% then it probably wasn't reset properly on a prior oil change. Looking at your oil on the dipstick it is pretty clean I don't think this could be your original factory fill with 5k miles,so your oil must have been changed at least once in the last 5k miles. It is not likely that the oil minder would be at 15% with a recent oil change, so it probably wasn't reset properly after an oil change.